Improvement in steam-boiler feed



J. S. BARDEN.

Improvement in steam-Boile Fe No. 129,514 Patented July 16, I872.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. BARDEN, OF PROVI DENOE-RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR OF TWO- THIRDS OF HIS RIGHT TO JAMES A. WOODBURY AND CHARLES W. UNDERHILL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM-BOILER FEED.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 129,514, dated July 16, 1872.

Specification describing certain Improvements in Steam-Pumps and Apparatus for Feeding Steam-Boilers, invented by JOHN S. BARDEN, of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island.

ated by the direct pressure of the gas or fluid by which the engine is driven, in combination with an induction-valve operated by mechanical means and admitting steam to either end of the engine by its alternate movements, without affecting the exhaust-valve, as will be more fully described. It also consists in the employment of a double exhaust-valve having two valve'disks facing each other, and so connected together by a rod, a hollow tube, orotherwise, that the closing of one valve shall open the other, and vice versa, said disks being arranged to fit upon two seats, one on either side of the exhaust-pipe, the outer faces of said valve-disks being placed so as to be exposed to the direct pressure of steam in the passage between the induction-valve and the cylinder, and be instantly closed thereby, and, at the same time, opening the exhaust-passage at the other end of the cylinder to its full capacity, where it will remain till steam is admitted to the other end of the cylinder, thus giving a perfectly free exhaust during the whole length of the stroke, which is a very necessary point to be attained in order to prevent choking when working the engine with water or wet steam.

The second part of my invention relates to the manner of connecting the pump and engine to a boiler for the purpose of supplying feedwater thereto; and it consists, first, in taking the steam for operating the engine from the boiler just above the water-line; so near, in fact, thereto that if the water in the boiler rises above the proper level, water will be forced into the engine and the engine will be driven thereby; but, as water moves much more sluggishly than steam, the engine will move slower, and a less quantity of water will be supplied to the boiler until the water falls to or below the water-line, when steam will again enter the engine and cause the pump to move much quicker, and consequently increase the supply of water, and thus, by alternately operating the engine by water or steam as the water rises or falls, and thereby increasing or diminishing the supply of Water to the boiler consequent upon the different action of Water or steam in the engine, the water in the boiler will be kept at nearly a uniform level. The water which passes through the engine is exhausted into the tank from which the feedpump draws, and is pumped therefrom into the boiler again.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the centers of the cylinders, steam-chests, and water-passages of a pair of steam-pumps embodying my invention. Fig.

'2 is also a longitudinal section through the center of one cylinder taken at right angles to Fig. 1, and showing the mode of connecting the pump and engine to the boiler. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a modification of the exhaustvalve, and Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same on linear w on Fig. 3.

A and A are the engine-cylinders, provided with pistons B and B, secured to the pistonrods a and a, which extend through stuffingboxes and are secured to the slotted links or yokesG and O, in the slots b and b of which are fitted the sliding boxes 0 and 0, through which and the cranks D and D motion is transmitted to the crank-shaft D, all in a wellknown manner. To the opposite sides of the slotted links 0 and O are secured the pumpplungers E and E, fitted to work in the pumpcylinders F and F, also in a well-known manner. G is the steam-chest arranged between the two cylinders and common to both, from which open the ports and passages 61,01, 0 and 6, through which steam is admitted to opposite ends of both cylinders in the usual manner. H and H are two induction-valves fitted to slide in opposite sides of the steam-chest, and each so arranged and operated as to admit steam to either end of its respective cylinder, said valves being operated by the eccentrics f and f, or any other suitable mechanical device. I and I are the exhaust-valves, each of which is, in effect, a double poppet-valve connected rigidly together by the hollow tube 9 and g and arranged to rest alternately upon the seats h and h. The tubes g and g are provided with the orifices i and 73 near either end thereof, through which the exhaust steam passes to the interior of said tube when the valve is lifted, and also discharge-orifices j and j, through which the steam escapes to the exhaust-passages J and J and thence to the exhaust-pipe J Said exhaust-valves are so arranged that their outer faces are subjectto the direct pressure of the steam in the passages d, d, e, and e, and may be so placed that the steam or water, in its passage to the cylinder, shall strike directly on the top of said valves, and thus insure an instantaneous closing of the same. K repre sents the end of a cylinder-boiler, upon which is shown the water-line L. M is a pipe, one end of which is attached to the boiler near the water-line and the other end to the steamchest of the engine, and through which steam or water passes to the engine for the purpose of operating the same. N is a tank, from which the pump draws the water to be supplied to the boiler, and into which the exhaustpipe J discharges. O is the discharge-pipe of the pump, entering the boiler near the bottom thereof.

The operation of my improved boiler-feeding apparatus is as follows, viz.: The pistons in the engine-cylinders being in the position shown in Fig. 1, and steam having been raised in the boiler to the desired pressure, and the steam-gate in the steam-pipe leading to the steam-pump being opened, steam will fill the steam-chest, and, entering the passage d through the slightly-uncovered port, close the exhaust-passage at that end of the engine by moving the exhaust-valve I endwise, and open wide the exhaust-passage at the other end of the engine, and, passing on, cause the piston B to move in the' direction indicated by the arrow until it arrives at the extreme of its motion in that direction, the exhaust-valve being wide open the whole time, in which condition it remains until the piston has arrived at the end of its stroke, at which time the induction-valve is slightly open to admit steam to the passage 6, and the pressure of the steam moves the valve I endwise and instantly closes the exhaust-passage at that end of the cylinder and opens wide the exhaust-passage at the opposite end of the cylinder.

The operations of the valves and piston forthe other engine are identical with those just described, except that they are just one-half a stroke behind those described; or, in other words, the piston in one cylinder is in the center of its stroke when the piston in the other cylinder is at the end of its stroke.

The plungers of the pumps, being connected with the piston-rods of the engine, are. operated in unison therewith, and, by virtue of such movement, keep up a steady supply of water to the boiler.

This arrangement of the valves of the engines enables the engine to be driven by water under pressure without choking, on account of the exhaust being wide open through the whole stroke, and thus the pumps may work all the time when the pump and engine are properly connected to the boiler, deliverin g the amount of water necessary to keep up the supply; for, if the water in the boiler gets down to the lowest safe water-line, steam will enter the engine, the pump will run fast un til the water is raised slightly above the waterline, when water or water and steam will enter the engine and, owing to the more sluggish action of the water, the pump will move slower, and consequently will deliver less water into the boiler, and thus, though the pumps work all the time, delivering, in the aggregate, just the amount of water evaporated in the boiler,

plus the amount used to run the engine, the alternate running of the engine by water or steam will vary the amount of water delivered into the boiler just in accordance with the state of the water in the boiler. All the water drawn from the boiler for running the engine is exhausted into the tank from which the pump draws, and is pumped back into the boiler again.

The exhaust-valve I may be operated, by means of an eccentric or cam motion, independent of the induction-valve.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. An exhaust-valve, I, in an engine, operated by the direct pressure of the gas or fluid by which the engine is driven, in combination with an induction-valve driven by mechanical means, arranged to admit steam to either end of the cylinder, substantially as described.

' 2. In combination with the steam-boiler, I claim an engine, constructed substantially as set forth, to operate alternately by steam, steam and water, or water under pressure, substantially as described.

' 8. I claim a feed-pump for supplying water to a boiler, driven by an engine connected with said boiler at the water line, and provided with suitable valves to enable said engine to be worked by steam, steam and water, or water under pressure, substantially as described.

Executed at Boston this 9th day of December, 1871.

JOHN S. BARDEN. Witnesses:

N. O. LOMBARD, DAVID '1. PRAY. 

